Deadman walking again
by Taka ichijouji
Summary: Completed: When a ghost turns up as alive, Beetlejuice and Lydia must figure out how to bring down the person who did this before it's too late and before it comes after Beetlejuice.
1. Kill me now

This story was something I've been working on for a long time but never really had the nerve to write it. It's based slightly on the cartoon series but most of the personality and some of the characters are based on the movie due to the fact I was about four when the cartoon series came out but I own the movie. Please be nice, this will probably be my only Beetlejuice story and I hope you like it. I do not own then, obviously, because if I did there would be a sequel to the movie out by now. For god's sake, Keaton, just do it already! Enjoy. - Taka

Chapter 1

Lydia could not be in a darker mood. Having failed her eighth Social studies test of the year did not bode well, and Claire Brewster making fun of her again simply added to it. Not to mention she was being mad to go on a "family gathering" as soon as she got home, since it was a Friday and Lydia's father wanted to relax somewhere outside the house. So, instead of bicycling to her hellhole in peaceful pines, Lydia too a very out of the way detour. It led to a mountainous park that had a sheer 1000-foot cliff at the top. On a bike, going up the road to the cliff was at least a two-hour ride. It was perfect.

Putting on her headphones, Lydia started up the high angled road. Soon she was sweating and gasping slightly for a breath, even though it was still spring and the weather was quite cool from the harsh winter that had come about. However, when Lydia came over the last hill, she was rewarded with a beautiful sight. The entire town of peaceful pines was laid out below like a picture. Parking her bike, Lydia leaned on the railing that came up just before the edge of the cliff, enjoying the silence of it all. Then:

Crack!

A branch snapped and Lydia's head whipped to see a blond woman around the age of 20 standing on the other side of the railing, her feet halfway off the cliff. The woman was looking at the rocky bottom in creepy interest.

"Miss? Miss! What are you doing?" Lydia exclaimed, quickly running over to the woman. Lydia knew exactly what the woman was going to do, since she had thought of doing it a long time ago.

The woman looked at Lydia with blank, unconcerned eyes. Then stepped off the edge of the cliff. Lydia got there just in time.

"Grab my other hand! Please!" Lydia commanded, trying to muster some of her strength, even though she was still tired from the bike ride. The woman however, made no such effort and was simply dangling there, glaring angrily at Lydia.

"Let go you imbecile! You don't understand." She yelled.

Lydia started to answer, but she lost her footing and plummeted over the edge with the woman.

"What the heck do you think you were trying to achieve, sweetie? A medal?" The women exclaimed as they fell. The tone of her voice had a familiar ring to it and Lydia got an idea.

"Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice." Lydia said three times fast. There was a flash of light and the black and white striped ghost appeared where Lydia had been a second ago.

"This better be good. I-WHOA!" Beetlejuice cried as he saw his best friend getting dangerously close to the ground.

"Beetlejuice! Do something!" Lydia screamed. The woman and her were less than a minute from the ground. Beetlejuice grabbed Lydia's hand, the other one was still holding on to the woman.

"Say the incantation to get us out of here. It's the only way to save two people." Beetlejuice said as calmly as only a dead person could in a situation like this.

"Though I know I should be wary, still I venture someplace scary. Ghostly haunting I turn loose, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, BEETLEJUICE!"

There was a flash of light and all three people disappeared about three inches from hitting the ground. Unbeknownst to them, a dark, translucent creature was leaning over the edge. It had witnessed everything. It looked up at the sky, then slunk back into the woods behind the cliff, laughing in a deep voice before disappearing into thin air.

Lydia, Beetlejuice and the jumper woman popped back into existence five feet above the ground of a very odd world. They hovered there for a few seconds before gravity took over and they all landed in a heap. Beetlejuice, being a ghost, was the first to get up by simply floating above the two females. The seemingly suicidal woman pushed Lydia off her and stood up, brushing the dust off her clothes that Lydia just noticed did not seem to fit the woman.

"Perfect! The one time I actually want to be here the natural way and some pale little vampire girl stops me." The woman complained angrily.

Lydia shook her head in disbelief, not fully hearing what the woman said.

"I saved your life. The least you could do is thank me." Lydia snapped.

Beetlejuice floated over the two, looking at the unknown woman. After 600 years, he had finally learned that the best way to deal with a chick fight was to not be involved. However, the woman seemed familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it to where Beetlejuice had seen her.

"Not on your life or afterlife. But, I will express my gratitude for getting me to the Neitherworld. Who knew that a friend of Beetlejuice would be in dullsville AKA peaceful pines." The woman said simply. Lydia and Beetlejuice widened their eyes in shock. It was virtually impossible for anyone with a pulse to know anything about the Neitherworld or Beetlejuice; the exception was Lydia.

"How could you… What's your name?" Lydia said suspiciously. The woman sighed.

"Just figured it out? My name is Beth Jalenski." She said. Beetlejuice went ridged and his eyes literally popped out of his head.

"Beth?!" Beetlejuice said as he floated down to retrieve his eyeballs. "But… but the last time I saw ya, you were still six feet under."

"Gee, ya think. I haven't been living in over 400 years!" Beth yelled at the pale ghost as he stuck his eyes back in. Lydia, having been looking in awe at the two, spoke up.

"Uh, so you two know each other?" Lydia asked, then reprimanded herself for asking such a stupid question. However, Beth simply gave Lydia a very thin half smile.

"You could say that. I was Beetlejuice's first and only student in order to become the second bio-exorcist, since the neitherworld only had one. That was over two hundred years ago."

"Yeah, well you achieved the power to go between worlds, didn't you" Beetlejuice said dully, which was odd because he usually didn't use such a tone on anyone except his overly sweet brother.

Beth simply smirked at Beetlejuice and raised her left eyebrow. Lydia decided to speak up.

"Hold on. If you're dead, then why are you breathing now?" Lydia questioned.

"Like I know," Beth shrugged, acting nonchalant about her predicament. "All I remember is coming back from a job and something grabbed me. Then there was a flash of white light and when I came to, I was lying outside the latest house I had exorcised (which by coincidence was in peaceful pines) with no powers and in the clothes I had died in. You have no idea how weird it feels to touch your neck and find it throbbing with a pulse. Anyway, I grabbed some modern clothes that had been left from the former living owners," Beth grinned smugly, obviously proud of her work, "and went looking for the nearest place to get a quick death. The rest is history."

Beetlejuice crackled harshly.

"That's stupid. The only thing you'd accomplish from willingly jumping off a mountain would be ending up back as Juno's pet secretary." He said. "And I wouldn't put in the effort to get you out of there this time."

"Hey! What would you do? I just wanted my power's back. It's incredibly unsettling to be unable to fly. And it's not like anyone would notice or care if I died again. I was lynched by a hate mob in 1534." Beth exclaimed angrily. "So shut up before I arrange your face into something uglier than it is now."

Lydia decided to put an end to the ghost and former ghost's bickering.

"OK! So suicide is out of the picture. Maybe we can find who ever did this and make it turn Beth back."

"Good luck, sweetie. I don't even know what the thing looked like." Beth dismissed, reverting back to her harsh tone that was freakily similar to Beetlejuices.

"Well, do you have any enemies?"

Both Beth and Beetlejuice laughed this time.

"Babes, we're Bio-exorcists. Our powers are quite unique and extremely coveted. The list of enemies starts with every ghost in the neitherworld and goes from there." Beetlejuice explained.

"Then again, the list of things that can turn a ghost to living is almost non-existent. BJ and me have long been on the top of the list as the most powerful souls here and I've never seen anything like this. This kind of power is unheard of; the statement that it's impossible to raise the dead is actually one of the few truest statement ever created." Beth said. She then turned to Beetlejuice. "However, one thing is for certain. If he came after me, then he's sure as hell is coming after you, BJ."

"Where is that girl?" Delia said, exasperated.

"Delia, please. Have a little faith in Lydia." Charles said softly, trying to calm his eccentric wife. "I am already too worried about her as it is. And I was really looking forward to our trip."

Delia was in the living room, finishing up a sculpture of hideous (or beautiful, depending on who you were) proportions. Charles was sitting by the window with binoculars in hand in order to observe his favorite past time, bird watching.

"I swear, that girl just doesn't have her priorities straight. It's family, then friends." Delia said, never missing a opportunity to criticize her husbands only child.

A knock came at the door and Delia ambled over to the door and opened it to find a local forest ranger.

"Yes? May I help you?" Delia said in an overly sweet voice. The ranger nodded in acknowledgment Delia.

"Is this the Deetz residence?" the man said.

"Yes."

"And is your child Lydia Deetz?"

"Only by marriage." Delia said, still in her sweet voice. The Park ranger raised an eyebrow, but decided not to comment. Then Delia realized that she was standing in the door and invited the ranger in, but he declined.

"Ma'am, my partner and I found a bike leaning on the railing of the cliff known as Pre-Columbus cliff. It's called that because that cliff has a 1000-foot drop, which looks like the end of the world; which is what people thought before Chris Columbus. Now, we aren't sure what happened, but the bike was abandoned and we found evidence of a person recently being on the other side of the rail. However I haven't found a body at the bottom yet so-" The ranger explained

"Hold on a minute. What do you mean a body?" Delia asked, nervously.

"Well, every year there's at least one person who jumps off that cliff. Now I'm not saying that your daughter committed suicide, but it's a possibility. Maybe I should discuss this with your husband as well. Is he home?" The ranger asked.

"NO! Not at all. He is very busy. I'll relay the news to him. Thank you!" Delia said, snapping up back into her ultra nice voice again.

The ranger walked back to his car, took the bicycle out and drove away, shaking his head. Delia quickly shut the door, thinking. The last thing she needed was for her already on the edge husband to teeter over it with the possible news that his beloved daughter was dead.

"Delia? Who was that?" Charles called from the living room. Delia hesitated before replying.

"That was one of Lydia's friends, dear. Lydia is going to be out for a while." Delia said back.

"Oh, OK." Charles said, calmed slightly.

Delia sighed, then walked back towards her neurotic husband, already preparing a speech for Lydia when or if she came back.

Next chapter will be out very soon, I promise.


	2. SID

Authors note: I own nothing so be a dear and please review. Thank you.

Chapter 2

Beetlejuice floated around his Roadhouse. He was concentrated on the floor as he moved two feet above it. Spotting his target, the six hundred-year-old ghost slammed his hand down on the floor and picked up two squirming objects. Putting one of them in his mouth, he looked at the other and smirked.

"Hey Beth!" Beetlejuice called.

"What?" She answered, walking into the room with Lydia.

"Think fast, babes." Beetlejuice said. His striped clothes instantly changed into a black and white baseball uniform and he pitched the large bug at the woman.

Beth caught the beetle easily and flicked off its head without a thought. Then, before Lydia fully comprehended what was happening, Beth bit the beetle.

"Um, I don't think you should do that, Beth. I mean, you are alive and I'm not sure what a neitherworld beetle will do to you." Lydia said, only slightly disgusted. After so many years of seeing her best friend eating the creepy crawlers, not much truly disgusted Lydia anymore. But it was still a bit disturbing to see what seemed like a normal young woman eating bugs.

"Listen, Edna Allen Poe." Beth said, since she had yet to know Lydia's name. "If I die, then it'll all work out. I'm not going to change the things I have been doing since I meet Beetlejuice just because I'm alive. Besides, I hear that anthropoids are a good source of protein for humans."

Lydia looked darkly at the blond woman while Beetlejuice gave Beth a glare that said back off.

"My name is Lydia. Remember it." Lydia said, slightly annoyed.

Beth just shrugged and Lydia was once again reminded of her best friend. However, a burst of cold air and a whirlwind of yellow fax paper cut Lydia's thoughts short. An old woman with a large gash in her neck strolled in, extremely agitated.

"You two!" The short woman said sharply. "How in the neitherworld could you let something like this happen. I'm especially talking to you, Beetlejuice! I can expect this from a rookie like Beth, but you have been a bio-exorcist for almost 600 years. I would have hoped you'd have learned to control and keep your powers by now."

"Whoa, whoa! What are you talking about? Let what happen? Nothing's happened!" Beetlejuice said.

"Oh, you've really screwed up this time, B-J. Who did you train to jump worlds without my permission? Was it Chester Slime? Or maybe Little Miss Warden; I'm sure she's been wanting to get her little evil hands on those powers for some time." She said.

"Hey, Juno! First things first. What are you doing here? I thought after the incident we had at with the Maitlands," Beetlejuice said, his eyes flashed towards Lydia in remembrance, "you would never see or have anything to do with me again."

Juno took a long drag of the cigarette that was in her hand. The smoke, instead of being breathed out, billowed from the large gash in Juno's neck.

"I wouldn't, usually. However, something destroying the lining of the neither world. If this keeps up, with out that lining there won't be a barrier between the living in the dead. We could have hundreds of ghosts illegally entering the outerworld. Or worse, the living entering the neitherworld." Juno said, frustrated and annoyed. She took another inhalation of her cigarette. Beth and Beetlejuice laughed harshly.

"That's impossible. The barrier can only be destroyed on the outside of the neitherworld dimension. The only people who have that kind power are us Bio-" Beth's eyes widened as she figured out what had happened. "That jerk! Not only did he turn me human, but he took the liberty of stealing my powers as well!"

"Good. Look's like Beetlejuice didn't make you too stupid." Juno said sarcastically.

"So what?" Beetlejuice said, trying to ignore the obvious insult. "It's not my problem. If you're so worried about the living finding their way here, fix it yourself."

Juno walked up to the much taller ghost and placed the end of her cigarette in the middle of his forehead and proceeded to crush it (knowing all to well that it would not hurt him the slightest).

"Wrong, you dead beat of a ghost. Those powers are of a bio-exorcist. I'm the only one outside this house that even believes that you aren't to blame. I was barely able to calm Prince Vince down enough to hold the mob for a little while longer." Juno said. She dropped the crushed cigarette on the floor. Beetlejuice quickly wiped the black ash that marked where the cigarette had been from his deathly pale forehead.

"Mob?" Beetlejuice said, now a bit more nervous.

"Yes, a mob. They want you exorcised. And considering Hanging Judge Mental is with them, it would be a snap to capture and teleport you both right in front of a sand worm. Or maybe they'll just torture you for a little while and do an exorcism the old fashion way." Juno said casually. She flicked her wrist and another fully lit cigarette appeared between her fingers.

"They can't exorcise Beetlejuice or Beth." Lydia exclaimed. "What about rights? Not to mention their powers are one of a kind."

"Doesn't matter. The neitherworld wants an exorcism and that's what they'll get, unless you fix this. Then I'll have something to work with and I just might be able to stop this mess." Juno said.

"Hey, it ain't our fault. Can't ya fix it yourself?" Beetlejuice said gruffly. Juno was the only other ghost who knew how to get to the outer world in order to help her haunters. However, she couldn't move as freely as the bio-exorcists.

"Me? Even if I could get to the lining of the neitherworld, I have enough to worry about. There's over 3,000 people crowding my waiting room right now; all from the same place."

"3,000? What happened?" Beth said, amazed. Juno, having to work at the unnatural death section, usually never saw that kind of numbers. 

"I don't know. A couple of really tall building collapsed." Juno said, smoking her cigarette. Lydia's eyes widened at the mention of that, but it went unnoticed. "The point is, I'm up to my neck with work and I can't deal (nor can anyone else) with the living coming into the world of the dead. You'll have to find a solution yourselves."

"But we don't even know who's doing this." Beetlejuice complained.

"Well then, I am going to make your afterlife about a hundred times easier. A few weeks ago, I was informed of a breach in our security. Do you remember the ghost SID."

"You mean that idiot that called himself the Shadow In Death? Of course we do, he was brought in by us after we found the people he was haunting murdered by his hands." Beth said. "But… he was exorcised, over two hundred years ago."

"Yes, I know. I supervised it myself. However, some how he escaped from the room of lost souls." Juno said impatiently.

"Wait a minute. It's impossible to get out of there. You'd have to practically be a demigod to perform that feat." Beetlejuice said nervously.

Juno nodded and raised her eyebrows as she blew smoke into the air.

"How in the word did you come up with the notion that we could stop someone that powerful?" Beth said.

"Because, besides a few exceptions, you two have the strongest powers in the neitherworld. You just fail to use them properly so no one considers you a threat." Juno said. She looked inquiringly at the two bio-exorcists. "I think you'll manage."

With that, she took one last puff of the cigarette and dematerialized in a cloud of smoke. Beetlejuice was floating in place, with a look of utter speechlessness on his face.

"If she thinks that I'm going to listen to her, that women is dead wrong." Beetlejuice mumbled.

"Great, my powers were stolen by a ghost who now really does have the most." Beth said sarcastically, indicating Beetlejuice's title. "I hope you're up to the Beej. The outer world cannot know of the realm of the dead's existence."

"Up to this? I can't defeat someone who's ripping the lining off the Netherworld. It's impossible." Beetlejuice argued.

"Well, if you had any control over your powers whatsoever, then you would have no problem dealing with this." Beth said, her voice raised slightly.

"I have a lot of control over my powers." Beetlejuice said dangerously. Lydia watched, not sure if she should get involved.

"I'm sure." Beth said sarcastically. "I bet you still change shape only when you say one of your bad puns or if someone's in mortal danger. Do you know how many hours I've practiced everyday just to get up to your level, which will never happen, because I am at a lesser class than you are? And yet you just blow them off."

"Well, I guess I'm just gifted babes. Unlike a few unmentionables." Beetlejuice said.

He leaned back in relaxed position, still floating. Or at least he tried, until Beth's foot kicked him straight in the jaw. Beetlejuice's head snapped back, and he rubbed his chin. But instead of looking angry (though the kick wouldn't have hurt him), Beetlejuice smiled at his former student.

"Babe's, I never realized you were that nimble. Those legs of yours sure can go high." Beetlejuice said in a suggestive tone.

"I've been training with the late Bruce Lee ever since I stopped some nuts in Hong Kong from destroying his house." Beth growled, standing in a fighting position. "Usually I wouldn't bother wasting my talents on the likes of you, but I've sunk a bit lower from the last time we spoke. You know you are so pathetic. You haven't changed in the last four hundred years and having something like this just shows how pathetic and tiny you are."

"You are so exorcised!" Beetlejuice said, suddenly taking offence. He pointed a pale, red tipped finger at his protégé and his finger started to glow. Lydia decided to step in.

"Quit it, you two." Lydia yelled. She ran between Beetlejuice's zapping finger and Beth. "You are both over 400 years old and are arguing like children. You are like my mother when she's not allowed to destroy the interior of a house. Please, we need to find a solution. You can argue later."

She looked pointedly at Beetlejuice and he instantly dropped his arm. Beth raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Fine." Beetlejuice sighed and backed off. He went to a window and looked out. Beth instantly looked at Lydia suspiciously.

"That is odd. No one ever could control Beetlejuice. Not even his girlfriend that he had when I was still training with him could. But you can do it easily." Beth said in a low voice. Lydia just shrugged.

"So," Lydia said, quickly changing subjects. "Where should we look for the SID thing?"

"How about up there." Beetlejuice said, pointing out the window.

Beth and Lydia ran over to him and looked at the sky. In contrast with the usual yellowish green color of the neitherworld sky, there was a big gaping hole that was filled with the light blue sky of the outer world. On the edges, bolts of black electricity came out and went to the opposite end, like threads of a string that was being pulled apart. Lydia squinted; she could see a plane in the distance on the outerworld side.

"This is not good." Lydia said. "Planes might fly in here without knowing it!"

"No, not yet. The dark electricity you see is what is known as The Black. It'll suck out your sole as soon as it touches you. The only people who can go through it must have doorways to the places where they're connected too. Hence the reason there are haunted houses. Or they can slide between worlds without the use of outerworld connections by reflective objects such as mirrors. However, only Beth and me can do that. Even Juno must use the doorways to go to the outer world." Beetlejuice said. "Anyway, because of all The Black, it tells me that SID is destroying only the lining of the neitherworld. When he starts to destroy the outerworld lining, then we're in trouble."

"So we need to go up there." Lydia said. "Ok then. Beej, why don't you transport us up."

Beetlejuice shook his head and laughed slightly.

"Babes, there's no way you're gonna get up there without dying first. There's no air and The Black will be everywhere. I can't understand how that ghost is up there in the first place without being exorcised." Beetlejuice said.

"Beetlejuice, I've seen you stop an exorcism before. Maybe SID's using the powers on himself." Lydia said, raising an eyebrow. Then Beth did the same.

"Only one? Well, you really are out of practice. I've had to do over 65 in the past hundred years. Ever since Houdini, everyone's been doing seances and have almost wiped out half the ghosts on the outerworld unknowingly. It's become half my job." Beth said to Beetlejuice.

"Hey, who has the lower class here." Beetlejuice said indignantly.

"I'm still considered a Ghoul, as are you."

However, before Lydia could become the mediator again, Jacques ran into the room, half-frightened and half-annoyed.

"Be-atlejuice. You are on ze news, did you know?" The skeleton said, crossing his arms. He then looked at who was standing next to his roommate. "Beth! Zis is a surprise, oui? 'Ave you and Be-atlejuice finally made up zis century?"

"No. Look Beetlejuice, either you get us up there or we're in sandworm land. I know for a fact that you have more knowledge about the lining of the neitherworld than any ghost, creature or monster in the neitherworld, so use it for once." Beth said, ignoring Jacques after a slight wave of her hand. Beetlejuice floated to the ground in order to think without having to worry about keeping himself up. After a few seconds, he snapped his fingers.

"I think I know what to do. It's a bit of a long shot, but if I'm right, there will be a crease that runs between the neitherworld and the outerworld that a type of limbo. In theory, it's where I go after I transport out of the neitherworld but have yet to cross into the outerworld. But that transition takes half a millisecond so I've never bothered to test the theory. It should have temporary livable conditions. It possible SID's there, but if he's below the crease and on the lining, then we're royally screwed in two ways." Beetlejuice said, floating into his relaxed position again. "But the crease is still filled with The Black. It ain't gonna be a piece of cake."

By saying that, Beetlejuice turned himself into a large black and white stripped piece of cake. He then instantly changed back; grimacing slightly as Beth smirked in triumph. But she didn't say anything. But instead, Jacques spoke.

"You cannot possibly be thinking of taking Lydia into zis crease, are you Be-atlejuice? Ze Black will suck her soul out as soon as it touches 'er." The skeleton said nervously. "Zis is stupid, I heard what Juno said. I know you are selfish, but don't put 'er in zis situation too."

Beetlejuice nodded in agreement and turned to say something to Lydia but Beth cut him off.

"No. I think both of us should come. We can help you and… Lydia may be more helpful than you think." Beth said enigmatically.

"What? Fine, you both insist on getting killed, then that's just perfect." Beetlejuice said with and exasperated shrug. "Just say the magic words."

With that he grabbed the two woman's arms. Lydia looked at him and smiled.

"Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice." She said quickly.

With a poof, the three of them were gone, leaving Jacques all alone.

"Zis is bad." Jacques murmured to himself.

AN: Chapter 3 will be up soon. Please review if you like it (I'm not exactly sure how many BJ fans are out there, but it would be nice to know that there is more than 2).


	3. The crease

Chapter 3

Beetlejuice, Lydia and Beth reappeared in a very odd place. It was very dark but below was the neitherworld planet that was easily visible. Above them was Earth as if they were looking at it very closely from space. Lydia gasped, she had only seen that image in pictures before.

"So, where is he?" Beth said, crossing her arms and looking around. There was no sign of any foul play or SID.

"Beth, I don't think he'd come out with a neon sign on his head that says bad guy. He- AHH!" A sizzle and a bolt of dark lightning that streaked inches from Lydia cut off her sarcastic remark. The odd thing was that the electricity was incredibly cold. Lydia shivered in response. Beetlejuice grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him.

"Careful, babes. The Black is everywhere. One touch and you're as good as exorcised." Beetlejuice said.

"It's not going to be attracted to us, is it?" Beth asked, squinting at the spot where the Black had come. Beetlejuice shook his head.

"Nah, where The Black strikes is completely random. So just be on your guard." Beetlejuice said. Lydia and Beth nodded. Then:

BOOM!

"That sounded like a neon sign to me." Beth said to Lydia, who rolled her eyes. 

They all walked quickly on the bubble of a realm that separated the two worlds. Every other second or so, everyone would look up and around to see if there was any Black coming at them. It came everywhere and it narrowly missed them a few times. But soon, the real enemy was visible.

There was a flash of light and then an explosion as a figure shrouded in darkness watched the glass like dome below break off a large piece and the piece shatter. The figure watched this through eyes that were glowing yellow and were shaped like the eyes of a snake. The eyes were the only things the trio could see.

"SID!!" Beth yelled in the direction of the eyes. "I suggest that you show your ectoplasmic self before I drag it out for you."

There was a deep laughter.

"Ahh, Beth. How nice to meet you again." A low, echoing voice emitted from the glowing eyes. "Even with such a weak mortal body, there is still such strength in your voice. I am almost honored that you remember me."

"How could I not?" Beth sneered. "You murdered an innocent family and their three children by your own hands. Then you destroyed their soles before they could enter the neitherworld. I'm surprised that you were only given an exorcism, for the rules are very strict on what is intolerable."

The eyes became wider and angrier. With a poof a tall man in a black tuxedo walked calmly up to them, appearing out of nowhere a few feet from where the figure in shadows had stood. The man had blood on his white shirt he wore, surrounding a bullet wound that was on the right side of his stomach that was obviously his cause of death. He glared at Beth and Beetlejuice as Lydia, sensing danger, backed up a short distance. The man was unnerving as he looked at them with green snake eyes that didn't make any sense on his face.

"Well, if that idiot," SID pointed to Beetlejuice "had done his job, then you wouldn't be in this situation now would you?"

Instead of answering the question, Beth looked at SID with disgust.

"So you figured out how to initiate my shape shifting power. Staying with the old dead body look, are you? Except for the eyes of course." Beth said, raising her eyebrows. SID started to open his mouth to yell again, but Beetlejuice cut him off.

"And for the record, I did do my job. But I wasn't totally freelance until after you so I had rules to follow. That family wasn't endangering you or your afterlife. They were innocent of what you accused them of. I was bound to my duties and you should have been happy that I was able make sure they were too scared to go into the room you choose to live in." Beetlejuice accused. "You killed the innocent. I may be crude in my ways of handling my job, but killing, though it is on my job description, is not an option when the victims are not any harm to the dead.

SID cracked his knuckles in a very dangerous fashion. He backed away slightly and frowned like a child who did not get what he wanted.

"Ya know, I learned a few things while sitting in pure torture in that room of the exorcised. I found out how to get out, how to steal ghost's powers to revitalize myself. And now," He smiled like a psychopath. "I know how to avenge my afterlife that was brutally taken from me from cowards who don't even know the true extent of their powers."

SID balled his hand up into a fist and it started to glow blue. He then punched it out and a streak of light came out, hitting the ground where Beetlejuice had been seconds before. Beetlejuice, seeing what was about to happen, jumped up and floated softly to the ground in front of Lydia with an unusual trait on his face: anger.

"Fine, you wanna play? Then I'm all game. Batter's up." Beetlejuice said.

He cupped his hands as if he had a ball in them. Then like a pitcher threw his arms out and ball of energy smacked dead center on SID. The ex-exorcised ghost went flying and landed hard. But like magic, he was back on his feet and had the most annoying smirk on his face. SID jumped up and flew toward Beetlejuice at a very fast speed. Lydia was amazed; she had never seen Beetlejuice go that fast and both bio-exorcist's powers were supposed to be equal. Lydia looked quickly at Beth, but Beth was looking at SID in disbelief and anger.

"Beetlejuice! Watch out!" Beth suddenly yelled but it was too late.

"Uh oh." Beetlejuice practically squeaked as SID landed feet first on him and flattened him, literally.

"Ya know, I'm sure our relation turned out badly just because we got off on the wrong foot." SID said, looking down at the deflated ghost. He rubbed his shoe into Beetlejuice's face. "We should really meet some time. I'm sure IHOP would love you.

On that sarcastic note, SID stomped on Beetlejuice one last time and headed Beth. But she was ready and before SID could get two steps toward Beth, she kicked him in the chest. Unfortunately, the force only made him go back slightly and he showed no sign of pain.

"ARRGH!" Beth said as she saw her kick become useless. "How is it that the only things that can hurt a ghost are ghost powers and they are in that stupid striped pancake on the floor."

"I guess fate just loves to favor me." SID smiled.

He punched at Beth, but she instantly blocked it. As Lydia watched, the fight became a battle of skill than powers and Lydia quickly determined that Kung Fu was definitely not her thing to watch. The one on one fight went on for a minute or so, each one at the same skill level, Beth from years of training with Bruce Lee and SID from instantly copying that knowledge when he took her powers. However, somewhere between the jump kick and the uppercut, SID decided he was getting bored and levitated Beth up, then slammed her on the ground. Lydia could instantly tell that Beth was not only unfamiliar with pain, but was in shock from it. SID stood next to Beth, looking at her and smiling.

"It's almost pathetic your life has to end like this. You see, if one dies outside the outerworld, their soul is lost forever, unable to be properly placed in the neitherworld." SID said at her. Beth was simply looking in anger at her enemy, unable to move. As she watched, SID held his hand in front of his face and it started elongating and becoming thinner. Before their very eyes, SID's hand became a machete, a very sharp one. "Goodbye."

SID raised his bladed hand over Beth's neck, ready to strike.

"NO!" Lydia said and did the only thing she could think of, run right into SID and knock him aside. Then she yelped as the machete nicked her neck as both her and the ghost fell into a heap. Beetlejuice, hearing her cry, pulled his arm out of the pancake mold it was in and zapped SID off her. Then he sucked in a lot of air and blew himself back to three dimensions with a pop. SID was already up again as if nothing had happened.

"I was wondering when you'd get out that form. Fighting your former student was getting boring." SID said with an air of superiority. "I was almost ready to get back to framing you for destroying the lining of the neitherworld."

"That ain't gonna happen, SID." Beetlejuice said forcefully. "Because, ya know, even though I'm out of practice…" Beetlejuice raised his arms in front of his face. "Monkey see, monkey do."

Instantaneously, Beetlejuice's hands were exact replicas of the machete that SID had. He floated up from the floor and started towards SID, pin wheeling his arms in a childlike fashion, much to both females' dismay. Beth slapped her forehead and shook her head in disbelief.

"What do you think you're doing. He's just as capable as I am when it comes to beating you butt back into the 1st century." Beth said in an undignified manner. 

Unfortunately, Beetlejuice didn't hear that. SID smiled in a way that was not comforting and raised an eyebrow. He placed the hand that was not a knife out like a traffic controller who was stopping a car, if that car had been Beetlejuice. He raised an eyebrow and Beetlejuice went flying. This time, it finally clicked.

"Beth? Tell me, how many hours have you practiced your powers?" Beetlejuice said, now in pain from what had been inflicted on him. Beth sort of smiled sheepishly at her teacher.

"On 14 hours a week. It's not that much." She said, laughing nervously.

"Perfect, just perfect!" Beetlejuice replied. "You just had to out do me for the past two hundred years, didn't you."

SID laughed as he listened to the ghost.

"You fool. Why do you think I went after her." He said and zapped another bolt at Beetlejuice, who barely avoided it.

"Doesn't matter." Beetlejuice retorted. "I'm still at a higher class, which means I'm stronger than that if I want to be.

"Really?" SID said sarcastically. Then he laughed again and his hand turned back into… well, a hand. Then SID closed his eyes and raised his head like he was basking in some non-existent sunlight. Then he started to shake and convulse. Beth started hyperventilating oddly enough.

"Beth, what is your problem babes?" Beetlejuice said as he raised his hand to juice SID again.

Beth didn't reply; just pointed to SID. SID's body actually started to elongate and thicken. Wide horizontal black stripes appeared on his body and his arms and legs started to come together to make one body with no appendages. SID's head got longer and as he smiled, sharp, ugly and long fangs appeared in his mouth. In a matter of seconds the transformation was complete and SID had become a huge, dangerous:

"SANDWORM!!!" Beetlejuice suddenly whimpered loudly. He looked at Beth with a look of utter fear. "You can turn into a sand worm?"

SID in his form slithered down to be eye level with his nemesis and screeched in true worm like fashion. Beth let out a sort of terrified giggle.

"Did I mention that? I didn't mention that did I. Well, I can. Sorry." She seemed to babble. Then the worm snapped out at the ghost and tore his arm right off. Beetlejuice looked down at the socket that used to hold his arm and then looked at the ghost. There wasn't any blood or anything that made it seem like the arm wasn't a prop in a 1980's low budget movie.

"You are so lucky I am six feet under or you would be in major trouble!" Beetlejuice screamed at SID, but was too terrified to do anything else. However before he could say more, the soul eater brought its head down and engulfed Beetlejuice in its jaws. Lydia screamed bloody murder (for a good reason).

"Beth! For the love of god, DO SOMETHING!" Lydia yelled.

Beth looked at Lydia in helplessness. She was frozen solid by the Sandworm; a trait obviously picked up from her mentor years ago. The sandworm slithered around Beth as she shook in her spot. It surrounded her and before Beth realized what was going on, it entrapped her in its body and started to squeeze. Beth started to breathe harder and screamed silently at the sandworm. The sandworm squeezed tighter and as Lydia watched, unable to do anything, Beth went to the brink of not being able to expand her lungs. Then SID's hold loosened and he screeched terribly.

"Ya know, SID," a gruff voice said from the worm's jaws. "You really shouldn't bite off more than you can chew. And I am the biggest bite you could ever take."

With that, SID's fanged jaws were forced open and Beetlejuice, with his arm fully attached, held them there as SID screamed in frustration. Beetlejuice instantly jumped out and landed next to Beth, who was still inhaling deeply from lack of oxygen. Lydia started to run up to Beetlejuice, but he motioned her back.

"You know what?" Beth said as she regained he composure. "I've had it with him. Get us out of here NOW!"

SID started to come back for round two and for once, Beetlejuice agreed.

"Good idea." Beetlejuice said.

He ran up to Lydia very quickly and grabbed her arm while Beth grabbed his free arm. Lydia, not wasting a second, said the incantation instantly. The three were gone just in time as SID's monstrous head descended and snapped at the air where they had stood moments before. SID screeched in anger.

***

Beth, Lydia and Beetlejuice popped back into the neitherworld again; finding themselves standing in the living room of the roadhouse that was coincidentally the same place they had started from. Beth and Beetlejuice looked at each other for a second then started to laugh hysterically.

"What could possibly be so funny?" Lydia said, both amazed at them and still in a state of fear from what happened in the crease.

"Nothing." Beth said, still laughing. "It's just keeping me from screaming."

"Only 14 hours a week! I can't believe you practice your powers at all." Beetlejuice said as he calmed down from the laughter.

Beth was about to retort but Jacques walked into the living room from the kitchen. Seeing the three, he promptly dropped the glass of water he was carrying.

"Oh, thank god you are alive. I thought for sure zat zis would be ze end. But you are safe and zat is all zat matters." Jacques said, flexing an arm that was holding a barbell. Beth smiled at the skeleton and stood up with Lydia. Beetlejuice floated back into his usual relaxed position.

"Well, that was a complete failure, babes." Beetlejuice said to both Lydia and Beth. She nodded in agreement. But before she could put in any insight, Ginger came out of her hiding spot in the wall and looked at the group of both dead and alive people. She frowned upside down.

"Well, BJ, it's been nice to know ya. Hope you're as cozy in the lost souls room as you are here." She said solemnly.

"What are you on, Ginger?" Beetlejuice shot at the spider. Instead of answering, she simply pointed to the door. It was open and standing just inside were Prince Vince and two very serious looking law enforcement ghouls. One of the police ghosts stepped forward and looked at Beetlejuice intensely.

"Mr. Beetlejuice? You are under arrest," The ghoul said. "For the attempted destruction of our world. If you come quietly, we can ensure your exorcism will be quick and painless. Please come with us."

A/N: This took a little longer than expected due to three huge projects that I had to do. Thanks to all who reviewed. Hope you liked this chapter as much as the last. Please review.


	4. Vince, the royal pain in the butt

Chapter 4

The ghoul that had not spoken cracked its knuckles and started toward Beetlejuice in a very threatening manner. Beetlejuice's eyes widened as he recognized him.

"Armhold Musclehugger. Nice to see you're still in the cronies business." Beetlejuice said sarcastically.

Instead of answering, Armhold grabbed Beetlejuice's scraggly blond hair and pushed his head to the floor. Or at least tried before Beetlejuice zapped him back with a bolt and made the ghoul fall into Prince Vince. Unfortunately, as Armhold fell, another immediately took his place and this one was a lot quicker and a lot stronger. The ghoul grabbed Beetlejuice's neck and lifted the ghost off the ground. There, Beetlejuice could do nothing but spit colorful insults at his captor.

"Prince, stop! We're your friends; you owe us. The least you could do is to turn a blind eye to this. We'll fix it, but we need time." Lydia pleaded. Prince Vince looked at Lydia for the first time with his always-gloomy eyes. A female came up next to the prince who looked almost like Beetlejuice's captor. Beth's eyes widened in fear.

"Vampires!" She gasped in a hushed voice.

Lydia looked in awe at the Vampiress, for the she had only ever seen one, and that was going after Delia at the Hotel Hello when they were on vacation in the Neitherworld.

"Sir? You never told us that there were living. Human blood is almost impossible to find in this world. May we?" The Vampiress asked politely, even though it was obvious she was excited.

Prince Vince looked at Lydia, then to Beth. Lydia was shaking her head, pleading silently with the prince of the Neitherworld. He sighed, satisfied, as he came to his decision.

"Leave the short one alone." Vince said, indicating how short Lydia still was. She fidgeted very slightly at the reference. "Do what you wish with the other."

"NO!" Lydia screamed and started towards the prince, but large bodyguard ghosts surrounded the gothic girl.

Two more vampires took the lead Vampiress place and judo chopped Beth before she could get a martial arts move in. They grabbed her arms before she hit the ground and brought her, disoriented, towards Vince. Beetlejuice was now being disabled by the vampire and a small device that looked like a scarab was being placed on his chest.

"Well Beetlejuice, I hope you enjoyed your last 600 years." Armhold sneered. "You see that beetle that's being placed on you. It disables the powers of the dead, a little trick we picked up from the Egyptians."

Beetlejuice squirmed helplessly in the vampire's grasp. Beetlejuice narrowed his eyes at the bloodsucker.

"Where did you get them, Prince?" Beetlejuice spat Vince's title. "Vampires usually don't stray away from the outskirts of the sandworm land that they were exiled to years ago. Only a few actually live in the Neitherworld"

Prince Vince smiled slightly, but never straying from his depressing façade.

"They owed me a favor. Besides, who wouldn't volunteer to stop the destroyer of our home? I'm sorry our friendship has to end like this. I'm glad you liked my music." Prince Vince said.

Beetlejuice sneered angrily at the irony and awkwardness of what the prince had just said. However, before he could come up with a snide remark, a yell made his head (with little mobility) whip around to see Lydia holding her head and screaming in distress.

"Stop this! Vince! Let them go or they'll be exorcised. Don't do this. Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!!!" Lydia screamed.

As she vehemently said the last words, she brought her hands down in front of her in frustration. A burst of gold light came from her hands and hit the nearest ghost that was blocking her. He immediately went ridged and fell over, paralyzed. Everything stopped and all the vampires suddenly released Beth and Beetlejuice.

"Vince, you fool. How dare you not tell us that the girl was a-" One of the vampires that had been holding Beth said.

"I didn't know." Vince interrupted.

"Well you should have thought about that before you decided to use us." Another Vampiress with a British accent said angrily. "We're out of here. Come on."

With a turn on their heels, the vampires walked out of the roadhouse as swiftly as they came. The remaining ghosts picked up their fallen mate and followed. Vince took a quick, gloomy glance at Lydia, then slammed the door shut.

"OK, what just happened?" Lydia spoke up after a minute. Beth rubbed her neck and looked at Lydia.

"They've gone to get a Razer. We'll need to leave soon." Beth sighed. Beetlejuice looked at Beth and raised an eyebrow.

"Who needs to shave?" He asked. Beth slapped her forehead in exasperation.

"Not a raz**_or_, **a Raz**_er_**. A ghost who razes the dead; performs exorcisms and," Beth looked at Lydia, "destroys see'ers."

Lydia cocked her head, confused.

"What's a see'er?" She asked. Beth sighed.

"A person, one who is alive, that has more that a sixth sense for detecting ghosts. A see'er can see, talk to and control ghosts. And I'm almost certain that you're one of them." Beth said and Lydia opened her mouth to instantly deny the statement. "No one can control Beetlejuice, except for you. Think about it. And that was some power you displayed."

"Um, I hate to break up this little enlightenment here, but we have to go NOW!" Beetlejuice said as he glanced out the window. He grabbed Lydia's elbow and dragged her out the back door with Beth following.

"What was that all about?" Beth asked, annoyed as they walked quickly away from the roadhouse.

"The mob just decided to show up at our house. Now I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be caught alive there." Beetlejuice said.

"I see your point. But we need a place to stay." Beth said. The two bio-exorcists looked at Lydia.

"Hey, don't look at me. If my parents found either one of you in my room and with no explanation about how I got myself home without my bike, I'll be punished worse than that time you brought me to the Catskull mountains, Beej." Lydia protested. Beth laughed at this and smiled, amused, at Beetlejuice.

"You brought a living to the Catskulls? Why didn't you just save yourself the trouble and teleport them to the real Catskill Mountains in upstate NY? They're very nice in the fall." Beth laughed. Then her eyes lit up with an idea. "I know! I have a friend who lives on the outskirts of New Yuck City. It'll be perfect, nobody ever sees him."

***

Beth slammed her fist on the wooden door of a small, dark store that said Sean's liquids: For all your liquid needs.

"Sean! Open up, I know you're in there!" Beth yelled at the door. There was no answer. Beetlejuice sneaked a peek inside the window and saw nothing but multicolored bottles. The room itself, however, was very dark.

"Beth, babes? Are you sure no one will come in here? I'm almost certain my face is all over the news by now." Beetlejuice questioned.

"Yeah and I'm sure if everyone wasn't dead already, they would be from horror." Beth said sarcastically. "Believe me, no one will come here." She smiled. "Sean doesn't exactly run a legit business here."

The door gave a soft click and a blue eye peeked out from the crack.

"Who ever you are, go away. No one can be here. No, no, no. I-I-I-I'm busy." A fast, small voice said. Beetlejuice raised an eyebrow at his student, which she promptly ignored.

"It's me, Beth Jalenski. You got to let us in. You know I won't hurt you." Beth said slowly and carefully, as though she was talking to a frightened child.

The door opened more and slowly a short boy who seemed no older than 18 came out. His hands twitched and fumbled like he was extremely nervous and from where Lydia was standing, she could see a long scar that ran down the side of his head and behind his neck. He was dressed in clothes that looked like they were from the 1940's, but very dirty and worn. Sean pointed a finger at Beth.

"You're not supposed to be here. You've been bad Beth. Very bad. Why are you here?" Sean said in a super fast tone. Now Lydia knew something was wrong with this ghoul.

"You know why." Beth said slowly. Sean nodded his head vigorously.

"Yes, yes. I don't care. You have vampires on your tail. Yeah. They'll get you and…" Sean sniffed the air by Beetlejuice in disgust. "Stinky. You're going to be exorcised. You can't come in. No, no, no, nooooooo."

Beth had had enough. She grabbed Sean by his ragged shirt and pulled him up to her face.

"Sean, tell me, who do you trust in this world?"

Sean's head tilted to the side and he looked at the ground besides him.

"You." He said in a somewhat sad voice.

"That's right." Beth said. She let him go. "Now, we need your assistance. Understand."

Again, Sean's head nodded rapidly.

"Fine, fine, fine." Sean said quickly. "But don't touch anything." He looked at Beetlejuice. "And you, Stinky…" 

Sean lashed his hand out at Beetlejuice's neck and ripped something off that made Beetlejuice cry out slightly in pain. Sean's twitchy hand held up a tick looking object.

"No bringing vampire trackers into the lab. Bad for business." Sean said indignantly. He then put the tracker in his mouth, chewed and then spat the pieces on the ground. "Oh, yuck. They already have your ectoplasm trail, Stinky. Yours is very bad tasting and is going to lead those sandworm land dweller right to my shop! You owe me, Beth." 

Beth sighed and rolled her eyes. Luckily, Sean still let them in and the trio was soon standing in a room surrounded by nothing but bottles. Both Beetlejuice and Lydia looked in awe at the room. The extent of the collection of bottles was amazing, ranging from clear to colored to opaque and from shaped to thin and thick to tall and short. Beetlejuice reached for a purple vase looking bottle, but Sean quickly snatched it.

"No touching! These are very delicate and it takes a long time to create that stuff." Sean exclaimed. Beetlejuice gave him a skeptical look.

"Really?" Beetlejuice said.

With that Beetlejuice grabbed the bottle back, took off the top with a small pop and sniffed the contents. Then he narrowed his eyes at Sean and shoved the bottle into Sean's chest, where he quickly fumbled to hold it. Beetlejuice looked at Beth.

"Just as I suspected. Beth, your friend is a potion maker. Potions have been outlawed for centuries. This place is dangerous." Beetlejuice said in a mad tone.

"I told you his business wasn't legit." Beth protested.

"Not legit. This is more than not legit. This place is illegal and immoral and I think your friend's insane!" Beetlejuice said angrily. Beth breathed deeply in order to calm herself.

"He's not insane. Sean is a paranoid schizophrenic. But he's one of the most intelligent geniuses I've ever met." Beth whispered at Beetlejuice as Sean looked at him with a loathing.

"And your business is, Stinky?" Sean said indignantly about the legit comment. He gingerly placed the bottle back on a shelf. "I've heard of what you do from Beth. You scam ghosts and run the alive out of their own house for a living. Potions are only truly dangerous to the living."

"Guys, don't argue." Lydia said quietly. Sean whipped his head around and raised an eyebrow at Lydia. He then floated over to her and examined her eyes and face.

"A see'er! Beth, are you training her yourself? Considering all your experience in that subject and stuff." Sean said. He let out a high pitched laugh. "She's kind of cute, for one with a pulse."

Lydia looked at Beth, confused.

"What does he mean?" Lydia asked. Instead of answering, Beth grabbed Sean by the shirt and pulled him up close to her face. Since she was tall and he was short, that meant lifting Sean off the ground so they were eye-level.

"I didn't come here to deal with your unnecessary commentary on matters you don't understand. We need help and you're the only person with the guts or idiocy to have a place devoted to selling illegal concoctions." Beth said through clenched teeth. Sean smiled widely.

"Help? Maybe I can do that, maybe not. Depends. What type of trouble are you in?" Sean said.

Beth, Beetlejuice and Lydia then proceeded to tell Sean of what they had encountered with the ghost SID. As they did, Sean sifted through bottles and bottles of potions, looking for a specific one. He gave up as they finished.

"Potions will not help you here. No, no. I have clients you know. All ghosts who seek power come in here and they aren't patient. Mayor Maynot could come in at any second. You should leave." Sean persisted.

"What do you mean they won't help?" Lydia asked, looking around at the rainbow of glass that surrounded her. She picked up one of the bottles. "One of these should help."

Sean floated over to her and looked at the label of the bottle she had.

"Cocafline. That's sure not going to help you. The reason potions are prohibited is not for the safety of the ghosts, but for humans. For you, that potion that your holding is a narcotic that will kill you if not taken in very small dosages. To us it is a relaxant." Sean said. He placed the bottle back on the shelf. It was obvious he was avoiding the question.

"Sean, Lydia is a see'er and I am alive. That makes me a see'er again too. Now would you rather have two happy see'ers who will make sure that your business can go on, or do you want two really pissed off see'ers in your shop whose powers derive from their emotions." Beth gave Sean the ultimatum. "Now then, will you help us?"

Sean rubbed his hands together and made a whining noise.

"You have to understand, I don't have anything that can help you. My potions will not help you defeat him; even power boosting potions can only go so far. I've seen what you and stinky do. You can't control your powers well enough." Sean said.

"My name is Beetlejuice, ya nutjob." Beetlejuice said indignantly.

"Then what do you have?" Beth said dangerously.

Sean shrugged his shoulders in defeat.

"Boosting potions, relaxing potions, high-energy potions, figure shaping potions (a big one this year), possession potions, healing potions…" Sean listed on his finger. Beth suddenly cut him off.

"Did you say possession potions?" Beth asked. Sean nodded his head rapidly.

"Uh huh, uh huh. External and internal possession. Not very popular since The Exorcist came out in theaters but then again, most ghosts can do external possession with out the use of a potion."

"External possession?" Lydia said, confused. Beetlejuice answered.

"It's the power to control ghosts or the living without being inside them. I can easily do it, but it doesn't give the possessor as much mobility as internal does. But internal possession is only done by those who want to end up in the lost souls room." Beetlejuice said, raising a skeptical eyebrow at Sean and Beth. "It's a dangerous practice."

"Oh yes. But it's useful and very much fun. It's used by ghosts who wish to have some mobility outside of the house they haunt. Besides, the possessed get to be immortal and have the power of the ghost that's possessing them." Sean said. "But why go to all the trouble? It's a very expensive product and you have a limited amount of time."

Everyone in the room stared at Beth. She sighed.

"I and I alone know how my powers work and to what extent they can be used. If I get possessed by Beetlejuice I can implement his powers with my knowledge and try and defeat SID again." Beth said. Beetlejuice immediately shook his head.

"I've heard the rumors. It's dangerous, for both you and me. You can try to get yourself killed, but I rather like my afterlife thank you very much. Besides, it wouldn't be very good if I was exorcised and SID was left up to his own accord." Beetlejuice snubbed. Sean snorted in laughter.

"Not very good!? This is the end of the world if you fail. It's been written in prophecies." Sean said. Beetlejuice raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't realize you were into such mumbo jumbo like prophecies." Beetlejuice said. Sean nodded his head vigorously and flew to the window of his shop. He pointed at the slowly enlarging hole in the sky. It was now the size of a harvest moon.

""It has been written that if that ugly hole touches the horizon, everything you love and care about will be gone with this world, sucked into a void that will make death unbearable. Even the living will feel the change and they will dread the day they die instead of embrace it. Without this world, life is just a prolonging of the inevitable nothingness that will be left if you fail. I suggest you don't mess this up." Sean said darkly. His speaking had slowed considerably as he talked.

"Right. So we shouldn't risk our chances with possession." Beetlejuice said.

"It's not that simple." Beth argued. "What if you do get captured. Then no one will be able to take us to the crease. Ever thought about that?"

Beetlejuice didn't answer.

"We do this as a last resort. If you get captured, we take the potions. If not, then there will not be a need for them. But I'd rather be safe than sorry." Beth said.

Beetlejuice looked at Lydia. The he turned to Sean and nodded. Sean nodded his head back.

"Ok, okay. I will be down in my lab. It will take me a few hours to create a batch of the stuff. Make yourselves at home. But don't touch anything." Sean said.

With that, he disappeared.

AN: Next chapter may take a little while to get up. I'm going away for a month and will not be able to work on it so quickly. Please review


	5. Laboratory story

Chapter 5

"So Claire was right, I am a witch." Lydia said, looking at her hands.

It had been less than an hour, but already everyone was getting bored. Beetlejuice had decided to situate himself between a green and red bottle on top of a display case, buffing his nails in an oddly feminine fashion while Beth decided to show Lydia how to be a see'er and Lydia was less than enthusiastic.

"No, not a witch. Your more like a…uh…psychic. But your abilities are enhanced in the world of the dead. Not to mention that extreme emotion brings out their potential. And I must say, that was a very nice paralyzing job you did back there." Beth said.

"Gee thanks." Lydia said sarcastically. "It's not like I want to control ghosts."

"Well, you may not want to, but you have been doing it since you met 'Stinky'." Beth smirked as Beetlejuice shot his head up and scowled at her before going back to his nails. "He must not care though, because he of all ghosts has the most power to resist a see'er."

"You make it sound so sweet." Lydia raised an eyebrow at Beth. "How did you become a see'er?"

Beth smiled.

"It's inherited. One of your parents must have the gene and is obviously actively ignoring it. There aren't many left, you know. Most see'ers were killed in witch purges back in the 1600's. You must be one of the lucky families. I learned my abilities from my mother and our family traveled all over Britain back in the fifteen hundreds, cleansing houses of ghosts. Back then there were a lot more haunted houses before the neitherworld government decided to tighten the amount to only a few hundred per decade in the eighteen hundreds. Then some religious leaders caught wind of our money and us and decided to go on a little hunt. My sister was the only one who didn't get hanged and that was because she married a noble man."

"Wow." Lydia said. Beth nodded in agreement. Then her face lit up.

"Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you try to utilize your powers? You can practice on Beetlejuice."

Beetlejuice instantly shot up at that and knocked over the red bottle. Luckily, he levitated it back up before it hit the ground.

"What!?" Beetlejuice exclaimed. "Oh no. No way, no how. I promised myself four hundred years ago that I would never get myself involved with see'ers and I plan to keep that promise."

"Oh come on." Beth coaxed sarcastically. "Didn't you like it when I made you dance on our kitchen table?"

"What?" Lydia asked. Beth laughed as Beetlejuice narrowed his eyes at his former student.

"On our last trip before my family was hanged, we were paid to get rid of a really troublesome ghost that wasn't leaving, even after a priest had done an official 'exorcism' on the house. So we lived in that house until the ghost was out. It turned out to be our favorite 600-year-old ghost with the most. My sister and I honed our power on him and were able to control him partially after a year. Unfortunately he never did leave until we were lynched." Beth explained. Lydia looked at Beetlejuice in surprise. He shrugged.

"What can I say, it was three young women living in a small house alone. They needed a male figure." Beetlejuice said haughtily. Beth rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's why you stayed with us." She said sarcastically. "Anyhow, it takes a very strong see'er to control either of us bio-exorcists due to our strength. However, it is possible since my mother was able to control Beetlejuice against his will on and off for a month." Beetlejuice frowned at the memory. "Besides, you knowing how to control ghosts may come of some use next time we fight SID."

"That's an understatement. Speaking of which, if you are a see'er, then why didn't you use your powers up at the crease. It's not like we didn't need the help." Lydia asked. Beth sighed.

"My abilities have become… useless after almost four hundred years. Being dead I wasn't able to access my see'er abilities. And now… well, I'll show you." Beth said.

Beth turned and faced Beetlejuice eye to eye. She clapped her hands together like she was going to prey and rubbed her hands in a rapid motion. Then she shot out her right hand and, with her palm facing flat and up yelled,

"Spirit, heed to my command."

Golden light glowed from Beth's fingertips and created a stream heading straight towards Beetlejuice. He raised an eyebrow and brought his hand up, palm out. The stream of light hit his hand, which glowed for a second before flickering out. Except for his pinky finger, which Beetlejuice did not notice due to him smirking cockily at his protégé. Beth narrowed her eyes in determination and Beetlejuice's pinky twitched and shook. Unfortunately, thinking Beth had had no effect on him, Beetlejuice looked away and brought his hand up to his chin. But before he could address Lydia, Beetlejuice pinky whacked him in his face. Beth laughed like a young child. Beetlejuice frowned at Beth and held his small finger in place and the light faded instantly.

"Real mature." Beetlejuice said sarcastically. Beth just smiled.

"If I concentrated all my energy to my abilities, I may be able to control his whole arm, but Beetlejuice is quite powerful. I doubt I'd get very far even on a weak ghost." Beth said miserably. Then she brightened almost instantly. "So, now why don't you try?"

Lydia laughed feebly.

"I don't even know what to do." She said. But Beth, despite Lydia's unconvinced tone, was determined to have the creepiest human in Peaceful pines realize her potential "Don't worry about it. Is instinctive; you'll get it." Beth laughed suddenly. "During my first try, I made the ghost dance the tarantella and recite Shakespeare for almost two hours before I was able to counteract my control. Believe me, he high tailed to the neitherworld after that fiasco

Lydia looked at Beetlejuice in anxiety. Beth saw this and put her hand on the young girl's shoulder.

It's all about focus and control. You must visualize what you want to do." Beth said, as though she was reciting from a textbook. "I usually say an incantation to help me focus on the ghost, then I hone in on what I want the ghost to do and the rest is natural."

Beetlejuice, seeing an opportunity, slyly floated over behind Beth and changed his head into a large book that started flapping around silently in the most obnoxious way as she talked. Lydia, thinking that Beth had not seen him, tried to keep her face straight and listen to the former see'er.

And remember," Beth continued in her textbook voice.

She then suddenly swung around and high kicked Beetlejuice "BookHead" right off of him. The body fell to the ground and Beetlejuice's head instantly turned back into a head, pouting. Beth leaned down, picked up the head and tucked it underneath her arm.

"If you ever get tired to controlling or cant stop, taking a body part of a ghost will disable its powers and abilities. Unfortunately, in the case with SID, I have accumulated enough power from Sean' potions and others over the years to still be up to almost full strength even with an arm or leg removed. Something this big-head never thought of doing because he believed he was superior to all." Beth said, indicating Beetlejuice's head.

Beetlejuice snorted in annoyance.

"Thanks for the reminder. If SID hadn't pulled my arm out back in the crease I would have been able to zap him to Timbuktu. Now, would you be so kind as to put my head back on my body!" Beetlejuice scowled.

Beth looked down and raised an eyebrow. Then she loosened her arm and Beetlejuice's head dropped and bounced on the floor before rolling besides his body. The body picked up his head and screwed it back on as though it was a light bulb, squeaking all the way. Beth rolled her eyes.

"You're despicable." Beth said. She turned to Lydia. "Just focus. Say my incantation if you wish. You can do this; your subject will be Beetlejuice."

Lydia, still doubtful, took a deep breath, closed her eyes and balled her hands into fists.

"Spirit, heed my command." Lydia yelled.

She then flung her fists out and a burst of golden light shot forward. However, her aim was completely off and the light only struck Beetlejuice's shoulder. He didn't even flinch. Lydia, however, overwhelmed by the power, rocketed backwards and would have smashed not only several bottles but would have gone through the window had it not been for Beetlejuice floating his best friend upward and stopping her momentum with a conjured pillow.

"Not a good idea, Beth." Beetlejuice said, concerned for Lydia.

"Yeah. OW! I knew I couldn't do that." Lydia said, wincing slightly.

All of the sudden, Sean's head popped up from the floorboards, making everyone else jump.

"You better not break anything." Sean warned, his face twitching in suspicion.

"We KNOW!" all three said in exasperation. Sean simply sniffed in annoyance.

"Quit making such a racket up here. I've a reputation to keep and disturbing the neighbors isn't part of it." Sean said in his rapid voice. "You potions will be ready soon, so try not destroying anything."

"Hey," Beetlejuice retorted, "How come you can go through walls and I can't?"

Sean narrowed his eyes at the ghost.

"The gifts of death are different for everyone. You of all people should know that." With that he sunk down and disappeared into the floor with a small shlooping sound. BJ clenched his fist in annoyance and started to mumble profanities that luckily nobody could hear well.

"Give it a rest already." Beth snapped. "The guy's been dead sixty years and he had a rough life. Sean is the best man in his field of work and he knows things that could otherwise only be obtained through an ancient ghost or a vampire."

Beetlejuice looked at Beth as though she were nuts.

"Sixty?! He's an amateur. There is no way he could have picked up that stuff in a matter of a few years. Are you sure this guy is really the person you want to rely on to keep us from an exorcism?" Beetlejuice cried. Beth narrowed her eyes.

"Positive." Beth said quietly. "He may be young, but he's smart and strong willed. He's helped me out of sticky situations before. I trust him with my afterlife."

Beetlejuice simply grunted in response. Lydia sighed.

"What is with you two?" Lydia asked. "I know BJ isn't the easiest person to be with, but you've know each other for over three hundred years. What is ticking you off so badly? Both of you!"

"You wanna know?" Beth said, raising an eyebrow at Beetlejuice, who simply sniffed haughtily and suddenly was very interested in a light blue diamond shaped bottle that said Sildenafil, (though Lydia doubted if he knew what it did). "I became his successor. He was kicked out of a job because of… well it doesn't matter why he was kicked out. But BJ's been after my neck ever since he lost all his business to me."

BJ, unknown to both women, bit back a caustic comment by picking up the Sildenafil and looking inside it. He didn't even notice when Sean came up in a poof with two bottles in his hands.

"Well it's not like the neitherworld needed an incompetent Bio-exorcist anyway." Sean said. He glanced out the window a total of four times before setting down the bottles and looking at Beetlejuice. "I wouldn't drink that if I were you. I sure you haven't had a girlfriend in over two hundred years, but I don't think you need that yet."

"Oh really? What the heck is it?" Beetlejuice said, putting the cap back on the bottle. Sean smirked.

"Ever heard of Viagra?" He said in an extremely amused tone.

Beetlejuice's eyes widened in disgust, and then he gingerly held the bottle with two fingers and put it back on the shelf as though it was some dirty, disgusting object. Beth barely hid the snort of laughter she made. But she quickly regained her composure.

"What's with the bottles?" Beth said, looking at the two bottles the Sean had set down. Sean smiled proudly.

"An ingenious creation that was used extensively in the late 1600's to scare the hell out of mortals. It has played an amazing role in ghost stories everywhere and-" Sean said as though he was an over-commercialized care salesman. And yet he still was twitching and talking like he was a nervous wreck.

"Yeah, yeah." Beetlejuice prompted, still angry from the Sildenafil incident. "Get on with it. What do we do?"

Sean twitched his head and picked up the first bottle with the utmost care. It was red and filled almost to the top with a thick liquid that if Lydia weren't sure it was a potion, she would have been convinced it was human blood.

"For you, Stinky." Sean said and lightly tossed the bottle to Beetlejuice. "And for you, Beth."

An aqua green bottle was tossed to the female bio-exorcist. From the looks of it, her potion looked more like water than anything else, clear and thin.

"And this will allow me to be possessed by him?" Beth said, looking at it.

"No. It will kill you." Sean said simply.

"WHAT!" Both Beetlejuice and Beth exclaimed at the same time.

"Well, of course." Sean said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Spirits must be loosened from their bodies in order for another to enter. And Ghosts must not be grounded to the netherworld or anything if they want to enter the body that already houses a spirit. That potion Stinky has is an exorcism potion."

The red bottle suddenly floated to the highest shelf in the room and was shakily placed there. Beetlejuice wanted to get as far away as possible from the potion.

"You know, if I wanted an exorcism, I should have just handed myself to the Vampires when they were guests in MY HOUSE!" Beetlejuice said sarcastically, floating a foot in the air with puffed up anger.

Sean, for one who seemed nervous and scared all the time, was very defiant against Beetlejuice.

"Don't be a fool." He said, pointing a twitching finger at the red bottle. "That potion slows the exorcism process. As does drinking that poison. You both must drink your potion at the same time if you plan to become one. Otherwise both of you will cease to exist."

The bottle flew down and was caught with a smack in Beetlejuice's hand. He pocketed it hesitantly.

"This better work, Sean. Or I will find a way out of the Lost Souls room and personally feed you to a sandworm." Beetlejuice grumbled.

"If we're lucky, we might not have to even use these." Beth said, putting an end to her mentor's bickering. "We should go now, the Vampires are probably on our trail."

She headed towards the door with her green bottle in hand. However, Sean suddenly stopped her by flying right in front of her.

"Five hundred neitherworld dollars, if you don't mind." Sean said, holding out a twitching hand.

Beth narrowed her eyes and gave the ghost a look that said "get off my back."

"Do you not want me to save your ass next time you get in trouble with the government?" Beth said. Sean considered that for a moment, then said:

"On second thought, it's on the house." He smiled.

Beth then looked out the window.

"Oh sh-" She said, but it was too late.

There was a single knock on the wooden door before in was thrust off its hinges and slammed into a whole table of filled bottle.

A/N: Sorry this took a long time. I was away and had no time to work on this fic. Hopefully I'll get the next one up sooner. Oh, to anyone who's wondering, Sildenafil really is the active ingredient in Viagra. I just had to put the joke in there, even if it is bad taste. Sorry.


	6. The Razer

Chapter 6

When the dust cleared, a large robed ghost stood in the door. However, he was unlike any other ghost Lydia had ever seen. Most ghosts were either in the state that they died as or skeletons. This ghost was different, seeming to be not only a ghost but also one of the monsters that lived in the neitherworld. And, Lydia noted with an unnoticeable shudder, he looked like a demon.

The robed ghost had a normal human body, but had short horns that grew out of his enlarged, oval shaped head. Sticking out of the corners of his mouth were wickedly long fangs, like a walrus, and Lydia was sure that all of his other teeth were fanged as well. Though he had pointed ears that almost all ghosts, including Beetlejuice, had, this ghost's ears were almost comically long and were almost like bat wings. The eyes scared her the most though, totally black, with no white at all. And he was holding an ax that was black and vicious looking.

"I-is that a Razer?" Lydia stammered. Beth nodded.

"The only one for this part of the netherworld." Beth said in a whisper.

The Razer turned its black eyes on Lydia.

"_So, the prince wasn't making a joke. There really is a See'er in the realm of the dead."_ The Razer said.

However, the voice was booming and it came from all around. Lydia noticed that the creature had not opened its fanged mouth. Lydia strained her head back slightly and she noticed a couple of tall figures behind the Razer. Though she wasn't sure, Lydia thought she saw vampiric fangs glinting in the setting neitherworld sun.

"Leave us. The Neitherworld is in great peril. You must allow us to go and correct this situation." Beth said as bravely as she could to the Razer. However, she was shaking ever so slightly.

The Razer did not answer back. Instead, he smiled, showing huge, sharp teeth that lined his mouth. There was a great gasping sound and the trio suddenly realized that the thing standing in front of them was laughing.

"_KILL_" The Razer's voice, said.

A vampire leaped over the shoulder of the giant Razer and headed straight for Lydia. It opened its mouth and was going in the direction of her throat.

"I don't think so." Was all Beetlejuice said before zapping the vampire in mid air. The force knocked the undead creature straight into a shelf, thus destroying a whole boatload of Sean's organized bottles. Multicolored glass shards and liquid flew everywhere, showering the dead, undead and living being in the room.

"GET OUT OF MY SHOP!!!" Sean shouted, but no one paid him any heed. Seeing this, the poor potions master discreetly reached behind him and pulled something out of and umbrella stand.

"That was uncalled for, you unemployed deadbeat." Another vampire growled at Beetlejuice. "Lets see how you react when your successor is no more."

In a blur of black and gray, the vampire headed towards Beth. She immediately went into a fighting stance, but someone else was quicker.

"Leave my Bethy alone!" Sean screamed and thrust a sharp wooden spear in front of him.

The vampire did not see it until it was too late and ran tight into the pointed end. In shock, the vampire looked down at the wooden spear sticking out of his chest. He gasped once before collapsing on the shop floor. The vampire became slightly transparent as everyone stopped and watched.

"BJ?" Lydia said questioningly.

"It exorcism. He's a goner." Beetlejuice said in a harsh whisper.

The vampire quickly started to deteriorate as it withered in pain. He became older and older until there was nothing but dust to mark his spot. There was a slight scream that followed as something invisible flew around the shop and left. Beetlejuice, Beth and every undead creature except the Razer shuddered involuntarily. It was a fate worse than death (obviously). Everyone suddenly snapped out of their reverie and all the vampires looked up and glared murderously at the four in the shop. The Razer then pointed his ax at Beetlejuice.

"Okay, time to leave." Beetlejuice squeaked out and instantly took both girls hands and in a cloud of smoke, disappeared. This left Sean and the vampires staring at each other in unending anger.

***

"Oh yes Beetle, this place is perfectly safe. No one will find us here, Beetle. Why don't we just hang out with a crazy potion maker for a while?" Beetlejuice said in a mocking feminine voice as the three materialized about a mile out of New Yuck City, being careful not to say his full name since he technically not allowed to. " Why don't we just commit Hara Kiri while we're at it!?"

"Okay, okay! You made your point. Get off my back." Beth said angrily.

"No, I don't think I have!" Beetlejuice said, enraged. "You dragging us into this sticky situation and now we can't get out." I had a pretty happy afterlife until you decided to die and burden me!"

"Stop this accusing now! You're just upset about the exorcism back there. We all are, but that's no reason to go on a tirade." Lydia said desperately, trying to be the voice of reason.

"Oh you bet I'm upset about that! That is going to be us in a matter of hours, whether by SID or that blob of pus, the Razer. We will all be a pile of dust with our non-corporeal souls stuck for all eternity in the lost soul room" Beetlejuice said.

"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU! Just stop it before I figure out how to paralyze you two." Lydia yelled. "Let try focusing. Now… where are we?"

"About a mile outside of New Yuck. Beetlejuice replied. "Let's try not to do that again. Teleporting long distances without someone saying my name three times takes a lot of energy. However, we have less than an hour to get away from here before the vampires find us."

"How 'bout less than a minute." A gravelly voice said from behind and suddenly a blade was thrust into Beetlejuice's throat and he was thrown on the ground from the force.

Beetlejuice thanked whatever higher power for his ability not to feel pain, unfortunately, with the knife cutting his head almost off, Beetlejuice was completely paralyzed except for talking and a few hand movements.

"Not again!" Beth yelled in anger.

She pulled back her arm and a ball of golden energy appeared in her palm. She threw it in an upper-handed pitch and it hit the vampire with precision. Unfortunately, all it did was make the vampire turn toward them, raise an eyebrow, and then smile quite evilly.

"That's not good." Was all Lydia could say before the vampire pointed his finger to the sky and the two see'ers were lifted three feet off the ground. The Vampire then pointed his finger forward and they were thrown deeper into the forest in which they had materialized to.

Lydia was instantly up and running back to her best friend, but Beth caught her.

"Now, don't go there." Beth said firmly.

"Are you crazy. My best friend is about to be eaten by a Vampire. I know you don't like him, but you can't-" Lydia exclaimed

"Save your breath. That isn't the reason." Beth said harshly.

She looked up and Lydia followed suit. Lydia saw what looked like birds flying towards Beetlejuice, but these birds weren't flapping. Lydia then looked at Beth, confused.

"The vampires won't hurt him much." Beth explained. "They feed on the blood of sandworms and humans. Ectoplasm isn't in their diet, but if we have any hope of saving him, we cannot be caught."

Beth pointed to the fallen ghost and vampire. As they watched, other vampires started to drop from the sky like stones. Soon there was a circle surrounding Beetlejuice.

"Where are the others, Arsen?" One of the vampires asked the vampire that had ambushed Beetlejuice. Lydia and Beth could easily hear their voices through the tree they hid behind.

"They flew away." The one named Arsen said. "And for what it's worth, I hope they stay away. It makes the hunt so much more… enjoyable." He laughed slightly.

The second vampire grunted in response and was about to say more when one of the others in the circle interrupted.

"Meth! This is futile. It does not matter that we don't have the humans. The Razer will be pleased anyway."

The second vampire snarled at the other one.

"Never mention that we are working for the one who banished us all those years ago in my presence again, Ricin! If I had my way-"

"But you don't." The Razer's voice said.

The shadows of every thing in the forest suddenly came together and created a black portal. The monster rose from the portal.

"So if you don't plan on spending the next eon in the lost souls room, I suggest you bug him. NOW!" The Razer said.

Meth sniffed slightly in annoyance, but reached into the pocket of his black pants and pulled out the scarab that they had tried to put on Beetlejuice before. Meth placed the inanimate object on Beetlejuice's chest and waited. The scarab suddenly sprang to life and punched its long needle-like legs into Beetlejuice's shirt and from the flinch he made, his skin as well. The legs burrowed deeper and deeper until it was obvious the bug was going to be stuck to Beetlejuice without causing some serious damage. The bug glowed blue for a few seconds before becoming still again.

Arsen smiled, then took the knife out of Beetlejuice's neck and the wound closed immediately. Beetlejuice jumped up and pointed a red tipped finger at the closest vampire, ready to zap him. However, nothing happened.

"Wha!!" Beetlejuice said, his hopes that Armhold had been lying shot down.

"Don't try and remove the scarab. Only and Egyptian priest or a See'er can do that. And I don't think you pet humans will becoming after you so quick." Arsen laughed. "With the kinetic burst I shot at them, they should still be moving."

With a quick wave of Methane's hand, four vampires took hold of Beetlejuice's extremities and lifted him up. They started to walk away at an incredible speed.

Beth and Lydia looked at each other. Lydia opened her mouth to talk but Beth held a finger to her lips until the vampires had been out of sight for a few minutes.

"Why did that vampire think we were dead?" Lydia asked, shaking slightly.

"Because, if you were anything else besides a See'er, you would be." Beth said calmly. "I guess Arsen, or whatever his name is, wasn't informed of our status. Since see'ers can control the dead, any power shot from the dead is nullified reflexively. I guess it nullifies vampire magic to an extent as well."

"Well, isn't that convenient." Lydia sighed sarcastically. "So what do we do now?"

Beth looked down at her pockets and pulled out the small green vial that held her poison.

"We stop an exorcism." Beth replied.

A/N: I know, I know. It's taken me forever to put up this chapter. But I've been busy. Which is why I'm letting you know now that not only do I have writer's block, but also I need to study for midyear exams. So don't expect another chapter up for at least a month. Please review and be kind.


	7. Exorcise!

A/N: Here's the next chapter. However, I just want to point out a disclaimer. I make reference to the 9-11 attacks in both chapter 2 and this chapter, but understand, I am in no way trying to make light of what happened on that day. However, since this story is set in real time (or close to it), I wanted Juno to be swamped somehow and this seemed like the perfect way to do it. I don't mean to infringe on anyone's beliefs or make fun of that tragic day. Thank you and on a lighter note, enjoy the story.

Chapter 7

"Ya know, did I ever tell you what lovely fangs you have?" Beetlejuice said to the female vampire that was holding his arm. "They look like they could rip out someone's jugular with just one bite."

"Shut up, swine." The vampire said, yanking Beetlejuice's arm roughly.

"No, I'm serious." Beetlejuice said as he wiggled a bit to see what type of mobility he had. "Do you sharpen them daily?"

The vampire ignored Beetlejuice this time and simply mumbled in some ancient language. Beetlejuice did not give up and kept trying to woo the female vampire into letting him go. It was only after she threatened to cut off his head and eat his unbeating heart that Beetlejuice finally shut up.

Beetlejuice squirmed and tried to move somewhat. But it was no use. Each limb was carried by at least on vampire, so Beetlejuice was being carried a foot from the ground and his appendages felt as though they were about to be ripped off. As far as he could tell, the vampires were moving back toward New Yuck City and at an extremely rapid pace. Suddenly he heard yells and shouts and Beetlejuice gulped.

"Destroy him!"

"Let him never terrorize us again!"

"Evil!"

"Narcissist!

"Pervert!"

"Fool!"

Beetlejuice sighed. He had heard all these things before, mostly from his former customers, back when he was a Bio-exorcist, but it wasn't like the people had ever acted on their threats. He felt himself being hoisted into the air and was suddenly dropped on to what seemed to be an outdoors wooden table. However, this table had restraints on it and soon, Beetlejuice was tied to the table.

With a silent gasp, Beetlejuice realized where he was. Back when exorcisms were still popular and Razer's were considered gods (or demons, depending on the religion) this was where the exorcisms were held publicly. Beetlejuice was lying on a public execution pedestal.

In a great woosh, the shadows of the huge crowd that had gathered suddenly formed into one large, shadowy circle and the Razer rose from the portal next to Beetlejuice. The deadly, black exorcism ax glistened brightly in neitherworld sun. Prince Vince stood calmly near the Razer, his face stony as always. There was a sudden hush over the crowd and the Razer turned and leaned down next to Beetlejuice. The Razer swept his hand over the ghost with the most and suddenly, he was tied to the table with what seemed like shadow restraints cutting into his appendages...

__

"Do you have a last request?" the Razer asked sarcastically.

"I didn't when I was murdered 600 years ago and I don't have one now." Beetlejuice sneered.

__

"Always the optimist, aren't you, Juice? The see'er will not save you. Just like you were not saved when you were executed in the real world." The Razer spoke softly, making sure the crowd did not hear him (or her, for the Razer seemed to be gender-less).

Beetlejuice, in his infinite brilliance, stuck his striped tongue out at the Razer. The Razer simply smiled; it's huge fangs gleaming in the setting sun. Gripping the handle tightly, the monster raised its ax above its head and turned to face the crowd of the dead.

***

Lydia kicked a rock on the ground as she walked. It whacked against the tree and simply seemed to make her more angry than she already was.

"Do you even know where we're going?" Lydia complained as she walked through the woods.

"Of course. We're going back to New Yuck. That's where all public executions are held. It's tradition." Beth said, annoyed. Lydia's eyes flashed angrily.

"Aren't we just a little pressed for time?!" Lydia screeched.

"Yes."

"Then shouldn't we be walking faster?"

"No."

"Why not!"

"Because."

"Because what?"

"Just because."

Lydia held her hands up to her face, deciding to stop trying to get any kind of answer out of Beth. For another minute they walked in total silence. Suddenly, there was a whirl of wind and yellow legal paper suddenly landed on Lydia's face.

"Can you two be anymore incompetent?" Juno asked, standing by a tree, looking furious. She pointed to the sky. "I'm having a crisis here!"

The hole that SID was making had engulfed a huge portion of the Neitherworld sky. The Black was now not only shooting across the hole, but also into the Neitherworld. It did not look pretty.

"If you haven't noticed, we've been running from everyone else. We don't have time to deal with SID until we clear our names." Beth retorted.

"You better make time then. And quick!" Juno said, blowing smoke as she spoke.

"Are you blind? A third of our team has gone to be exorcised." Lydia sneered at Juno, ripping the legal paper off her face and kicking the other pieces that had piled up on the ground. "We're screwed!"

Juno was about to retort when she was tapped on her shoulder and she turned around to face three Middle Eastern men. Juno rolled her eyes and sighed, obviously annoyed.

"How'd you get here and what do you want now?" Juno asked while Lydia dropped her jaw in recognition of the men.

"Where is Allah?" The lead man demanded in an odd accent.

"You're looking at 'em." Juno said, then turned back to Lydia and Beth and snapped her fingers.

The yellow paper suddenly became alive and swirled around the six people and engulfed them. Suddenly the paper stopped swirling and Beth realized that they were no less than a block away from where public exorcisms were held. She could even hear the people screaming in the background.

"Happy?" Juno said, puffing her cigarette. "I thought I'd never see the day that I wanted Beetlejuice saved from an exorcism. You don't have much time, so try to be at least slightly competent. Otherwise, we're all screwed."

Beth started to make a snide comment, but Lydia tugged on her shirt so Beth closed her mouth. They needed to go.

"Don't worry, Juno. We'll be fine." Beth said, sneering slightly at her former boss. Then both see'ers started to run towards the middle of the city. In the background, they could hear Juno conversing with the foreign men.

"Why are these American heretics here?" Lydia heard from the man with the Middle Eastern accent.

"Get back to the office. Now! You know, Muhammad, crashing that plane wasn't the smartest idea you've ever had." Juno said in the distance. "Why couldn't you have gone into a smaller building. I would have so much less work."

Lydia and Beth pushed through the crowd that seemed to be jeering and screaming like back in medieval times (and considering that this was the neitherworld, most of the crowed probably lived in middle ages). The Razer was up on the old fashion execution pedestal, looking lazily into the crowd. He raised his hand slightly and a hush fell over the crowd. Hanging Judge Mental stepped up to the pedestal with a skinny, decomposed man walking behind him. This man wore what seemed like some kind of ancient headpiece.

"Fellow members of the dead. Today, we get rid of a menace. He made the hole that threatens our existence. Today, he receives his justice: a fate worse than death!" Mental said, sneering grumpily. He snapped his fingers and a scroll appeared. He opened it. "Beetlejuice! For your crimes you have been sentenced to an exorcism."

The crowd cheered. Beetlejuice snorted in an undignified manner. He turned and looked out into the crowd. Suddenly, there was a familiar flash of blond and black hair and standing there was Beth and Lydia.

Beetlejuice's eyes went wide. Beth saw this and mouthed to Beetlejuice:

"THE POTION" She said silently. Beetlejuice nodded subtlety, not able to do much else with the restraints holding him.

There was another roar from the crowd and the thin decomposing man walked up to Beetlejuice and waved his hand over the ghost. Lydia suddenly realized who the man was. He was an Egyptian priest.

With a few mumbled words of ancient Egyptian and electricity spurting out of the priest's finger tips, the scarab that had been clenched to Beetlejuice's chest suddenly lifted it's legs out and dropped to the floor. At that moment, both Beth and Beetlejuice took immediate action.

With his powers now available to him, Beetlejuice zapped the red bottle in his pocket and it flew up and (with the cap magically zapped off) fell into Beetlejuice's open mouth. As he swallowed the bottle whole, Beth popped the cork off hers and drank quickly.

"Ahhh!" Beth suddenly screamed and fell on her knees.

"This is one exorcism that will have to wait." Beetlejuice said to the Razer.

Suddenly Beetlejuice became slightly transparent. The Razer swung the ax and slammed it down where Beetlejuice's head should have been, but because he was transparent, Beetlejuice went right through the table and floated away quickly.

"NO! YOU FOOL'S! Don't let him escape!" An angry voice screamed from the crowd. Beetlejuice looked towards the source of the voice and saw a woman standing, looking furious. However, the woman was different; her eyes looked like snakes.

"SID!" Beetlejuice shouted. Unfortunately, he couldn't do much more, since he could feel a drawing toward Beth. Beetlejuice knew it was time to take possession.

Beetlejuice shot towards Beth and went into her still open mouth. Beth suddenly collapsed on the floor and started to have a seizure. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head for a moment, then came back a sickly green color. She stopped moving and suddenly stood up.

"SID. Are you here for a rematch or are you ready to surrender and be exorcised." Beth said. However, her voice was scratchier and sharper.

The woman suddenly morphed back into SID's normal human form and he jumped over the crowd to where Beth/Beetlejuice was. He sneered at Beth.

"You should have died." SID said harshly. He raised his hands to do use his deadly ghost powers.

"Yeah, life sucks, doesn't it." Beth said and tackled SID.

She then stood up with him in a type of bear hug that kept his arms pinned to his side. Unfortunately that didn't hold long. SID suddenly seemed to have no bones and slipped out of Beth's arms like a snake. Then he then stood up and smiled. He jumped up and with a gunshot and a poof a smoke he disappeared. 

The crowd was dead silent, having just witnessed the fight scene. There then was a roar and the crowd charged toward Beth and Lydia.

"Beth! Now would be a good time to get us OUT OF HERE!" Lydia screamed.

"Right!" Beth exclaimed and grabbed Lydia. "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!"

Black smoke rose and engulfed the two. The nearest group piled on top of the places where the two women should have been, but they landed on hard ground.

"Hey, idiots!" A cry rose above the scene.

There, standing on the execution pedestal, was Juno. The Razer and Prince Vince were both sneering at her, but were not moving. 

"Maybe you should listen for a change. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but they aren't the problem." Juno said. The crowd turned to her, and she smiled, all the while smoking a cigarette.

A/N: Next time, the battle. Don't flame me, please. But do review.


	8. We're done here

When the smoke finally cleared, Lydia instantly realized they were back in the crease. The Black hit the ground next to Beth, melting her stolen shoes slightly, even though it was still an ice-cold lightning.

"Well, isn't this nice." Beth said sarcastically. "You've got any more bright ideas Beetlejuice?"

Then, as Lydia watched, Beth's face darkened and it was as though she had a split personality.

"Maybe we should go find SID, Beth, instead of harping on my spur of the moment plans." Beetlejuice said in Beth's voice and body.

"No need to. You've already found him." A voice that could only be SID's said.

Suddenly, Lydia was flying yet again. However, this time it was different. Why Lydia hit the ground, she couldn't feel it, for she was completely paralyzed by SID's magic. Fortunately, Lydia was paralyzed in an upright position, so she could see what happened next.

SID tackled Beth, growing much larger as he did so. He kneeled on her and grabbed her throat; Beth grabbed his neck in retaliation.

"You destroyed my life!" SID said, his eyes wide with hatred.

"You should know," Beetlejuice said, gasping for air. Lydia could tell it was him from the harshness of his voice. "You didn't make my life easier either. You destroyed my career."

With that, Beetlejuice/Beth kicked SID in the stomach and rolled away from him. SID stood up slowly, and his hands once again transformed into blades. SID was fast and sliced towards the being that was two in a blurred motion of anger. Beth was only inches from being sliced in to before quickly jumping into the air and grabbing Lydia, flying as fast as she could.

"Your CAREER!" SID screamed in rage, walking slowly towards the escaping bunch. "You fools have no idea… NO IDEA!… what it is like to be exorcised. The constant burning, the excruciating pain. Hell is a far cry from that agony. And all you can say is I destroyed your CAREER?!?!?!"

With that, SID grew large, very large. Teeth and eyes unique to only one creature emerged and the sandworm grew from where the dead body of a man once stood. The sandworm slithered towards Beth and Lydia, who were still flying away. With one swoop of the sandworm's tail, they were knocked to the ground. Lydia was thrown to the ground and Beth/Beetlejuice bounced twice on the ground and then skidded to a stop/

"Ugh." Beetlejuice's harsh voice sprang forth from Beth. "Babes, you ok?"

Lydia simply raised a thumbs up from the ground, not even bothering to speak words. Beth's eye's darkened with anger.

"Yes, my career." Beetlejuice replied to SID. "I lost my first friend because of you. Beth and I were a team, but you ruined that when you ruined me!"

SID quickly slithered around Beth's body and engulfed it with his own, trapping her in a coil.

"Truly, I'm heartbroken." SID said, dripping in sarcasm. "The bioexorcist, one of the most powerful ghosts in the neitherworld, loses all respect because of me? I'm actually quite impressed."

Beth snarled, but the one who spoke next was not Beetlejuice, but in fact Beth herself.

"You know, after I replaced Beetlejuice, he grew angry at the system Juno had set up and tried to get rid of it; which meant sabotaging my work by stealing real potential clients and creating havoc of their afterlives." Beth looked at Lydia, who realized that the Maitlands must have been one of Beth's potentials that Beetlejuice sabotaged. "I have resented him for so long, and have tried to go above him in powers and skills. But you see, that rage should have been directed at you. It was because of you that even the title of bioexorcist was tainted beyond recognition. And because of that, you will pay."

The sandworm's mouth gave a sudden toothy grin and the coils of its body began to move tighter around Beth. Beth, instead of looking frightened by the aspect of being squeezed into oblivion, split into a terrifying, Beetlejuice-esque smile and her skin suddenly stretched, twisted and razor spikes that bore the stripes of Beetlejuice's chosen costume came out of her skin

The sandworm's scales were punctured and SID screeched a terrifying high pitched scream that was unique only to the despicable creatures. With that, SID undid his grip on the possessed woman quickly, then snapped his tail, which sent her flying quite a distance away.

"Haha! See what I mean about having skills!" Beth grinned, though Lydia was sure that it was actually Beetlejuice speaking.

Beth then stretched her hand out and pointed one of her thin fingers at SID. However, there was a sudden crack and a flash and The Black crashed right into her arm. Beth flinched in pain and brought her arm towards her body protectively. However, another arm was still in place. The arm of Beetlejuice was still pointed at SID and when Beth looked over at what seemed like a second arm, she screamed, except her voice had both Beetlejuice's voice and hers in it.

"Damnit!" The dual voices yelled.

SID, seeing an opportunity to kill Beth, as the possession was now weakened by The Black, quickly phased back into human form for a reason only known to him and morphed his hand back into his favored machete and leapt forward toward her. SID then swung his machete hand straight for her head.

"STOP!!!!" A young girl's voice cried out

Beth/Beetlejuice opened their eyes, having been cringing; expecting the end (though in different ways). The blade was not inches, not centimeters but millimeters from cutting Beth's neck. The lustrous, ghostly metal quivered as it glowed with a light that can be produced by one thing: the control of a See'er.

"You will not hurt my friends!" Lydia said with vehemence.

SID narrowed his eyes at his glowing arm and with one quick shake, the glowing ceased. Then, he started laughing. Lydia's stomach very quickly made a knot and before she could even draw a breath of fear, SID's hand whisked through the air and blasted a bolt of energy at her, knocking her off her feet and through the air further into the crease.

"LYDS!" Beetlejuice barked, horrified as his best friend smacked the dark ground loudly. Beth's eyes darkened deeply, and her face twisted into a furious snarl.

"You will NOT hurt my friends!" Beetlejuice/Beth repeated Lydia's earlier statement.

With that, Beths's body began to transform. It first elongated, then enlarged and sharp teeth grew where there were once flat human teeth. Her appendages folded into her body and black and white strips covered her body. The newly transformed sandworm raised its head in anger and snapped down on SID, who seemed to be in shock, a fatal mistake.

"Augggh!" SID screamed

His body was picked up by the Beetlejuice sandworm and shaken before being thrown as far as Lydia into the black. However, SID was not so lucky in landing on the ground untouched. As he landed on the ground, The Black flashed and landed squarely on his chest. He coughed and groaned in pain; he was not going to get back up any time soon.

"We end this now." Beth snarled, transforming back into her human self. She pointed her quivering finger at SID. "Spirit, heed my command!"

SID's body glowed golden and he stiffened from the effects of Beth's see'er powers. However, with her still weakened state, SID started to get up and walk over to Beth, groaning and coughing the entire time.

"Spirit, heed MY command!" Lydia's voice rang true and SID's golden glow became more energized.

SID dropped to the ground, completely paralyzed by the power of two see'ers. Beth smiled the toothy smile that Lydia knew so well as Beetljuices. With one quick flick of her wrist, a machete formed from her hand and SID's head came off, destroying any chance of him using his powers again.

"Let's get out of here." Lydia said, her eyes transfixed on SID's head, which was now nestled in Beth's hands

"Couldn't agree with you more, Babes."

And with a snap of her fingers, smoke once again engulfed all three people and they left the crease. When it cleared, Lydia was surprised to realize she was back where she had started.

"Are you insane?" Lydia said in a low voice.

The exorcism pedastle was still place, with the razer looking hungrily at the three people who popped back. The crowd was less the lynch mob it once was, mostly thanks to Juno, who did her best to explain the problem before getting back to her cases, as there were so many. Prince Vince now stood alone, arms crossed, not looking very happy, though with his attitude on life, who could tell. The vampires behind him were keeping the crowd from jumping Beetlejuice/Beth and Lydia, but were still drooling, waiting for their chance to drink from one of the living humans.

"Look who finally decided to show up." Vince sniffed. "I hope things were corrected, or you should have stayed in the crease and let The Black get you."

Beth sighed and holds out SID's head to Vince.

"We brought you SID. We figured you could do something with him."

The Razer quickly takes it instead, startling her. A deep growl emits from the extreamly menacing ghoul's mouth as it's black eyes looked at SID's terrified head.

"_You fools. You bring me this creature who cannot be exorcised and expect us to take care of it."_ The Razer said in its booming, surround sound voice. _"I might as well exorcise you just for your stupidity."_

Beetlejuice/Beth shivered in response and stepped back from the Razer. The crowd yelled in agreement with The Razer. Lydia started to step infront of Beth in order to protect her friends, but then Beth's eyes lit up with an idea.

"W-what about Sheol?" Beth stammered. "If you can exorcise SID, send him to Sheol."

"Sheol is a place only found in fairytales and children's bedtime stories to scare them." Vince vicously scolded. "You cannot possibly be serious. How dare you agitate The Razer with this notion."

However, The Razer raised his clawed hand, cutting the prince off.

"_The fact that this see'er even knows that such a place exists is quite amusing to me. Sheol has not been called upon in 2000 years, for a very good reason. What makes you think I would open the portal now?"_

"Because it's the only way." Beth said matter-of-factly. "SID must be gotten rid of. Look how much damage he's done to our world, and how much more he could do if he had continued with his plan. He has no remorse, no guilt. If anyone deserves this, he does."

The Razer considered this. Then he placed SID's head on the exorcism table and Beth forced the rest of his body on that table as well.

"_By opening this portal, we all risk the danger of waking a darkness more powerful than you will ever know. I hope, for your sake, that it does not happen."_ The Razer contemplated.

Then The Razer raised his double sided ax, mumbled something in an ancient language, and the ax suddenly glowed a dark purple color. Then it shot a beam of energy into the sky and another hole opened in the sky, right next to the hole in the crease. The Razer then pointed at SID and the two parts of his body floated quickly to sky and disappered into the portal to Sheol.

"_It is done."_ The Razer said.

As all of the neitherworld looked at the portal to Sheol, a huge eye spanning the entire portal suddenly opened and looked down at the Neitherworld. It narrowed in anger and then looked over at the crease hole. A growl of epic proportions emanated from Sheol, and then both holes in the sky rapidly closed and disappeared. The crowd in New Yuck City sighed in relief. Their world was fixed for now.

"Well, that was interesting." Beetlejuice said.

However, before he could say anything else in Beth's body, the Razer swiftly floated over to Beth and grabbed her. He stuck his hand litteraly into her back and yanked the ghost with the most out of her.

"Oh thank you! He's thoughts were getting so annoying." Beth said as the Razer lowered her to the ground. The Razer simply looked at her and growled slightly.

"_You are a see'er. A very powerful see'er from what I sense. Your gifts were taken from you very early, which is unfortunate. I do not know what SID did to make you alive again, but you have another chance at life. I will not take that from you if you choose."_ The Razer then looked at Lydia. _"And this one, she is powerful as well. I sense a connection, possibly a blood connection. She is your relative, in some form. Do you want your chance to get to know her and teach her your ways?"_

Beth looked at Lydia and bit her lip. Lydia furrowed her brow in confusion, as it clicked into place that the see'er lineage was through her blood. No wonder her father was always suspicious of Beetleman. He could see Beetlejuice as clear as she could.

"Thank you for the offer…" Beth sighed. "But my life ended a long time ago. And I think it should stay that way. I do not belong in the 21st century, it doesn't feel right."

The Razer shrugged nonchalantly, then raised an open hand at Beth. Immediately, her body decomposed and turned to dust. Then the Razer melted back into shadows and left.

"Oh, yes! I'm back, baby!" Beth yelled, overjoyed to be a ghost again. She looked nothing like Beetlejuice, wearing a black dress that covered her feet and actually looking quite like a normal human. However, the one thing that did stand out was the rope marks that lined her neck, as clear and red as the day she was hanged by a witch-hunting lynch mob.

"Well, I guess we should be on our way." Beetlejuice said, watching as the once lynch mob dispersed to nothing.

"Wait." Beth sighed. "I guess I should thank you for what you've done. I never thought I could be happy to see you again, but I am. You can come in handy sometimes.:

Beetlejuice smirked.

"Well, I AM the ghost with the most."

Lydia giggled as Beth rolled her eyes.

"Lydia, as much as I would love to teach you the ways of the see'er, it is not something to be burdened with, as it got me in a whole load of trouble when I used them. In fact, it lead to my death. But you know you have them and you seem to know how to use them, if you must. Just, be careful." Beth warned. With that, she disappeared in a poof.

"Jerk, didn't even say goodbye." Beetlejuice snuffed.

"Come on, Beej, take me home." Lydia smiled. "I have to have enough time to think of some kind of excuse for my parents. They probably think I've died or something."

"Just say the words."

A/N: Wow, that took forever to finish. Well, it's probably because I am still in college and in fact in graduate school. However, I have finished it, whether anyone will read it or not. Thank you if you still read my creations.


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